
Image via Sony Pictures
Ah, modern love.
With love (or lust) just a swipe away, it seems like we’re no longer coyly meeting our partners in the local bookstore, leaving numbers on coffee shop napkins or clumsily walking into our soulmates on a busy street only to look up and fall instantly in love, as depicted in every romantic comedy ever.
(Or maybe you do, but you’re too busy looking at Tinder on your phone to pay any attention.)
As a result, the relationship milestones that indicate a casual relationship is becoming, well, committed have also changed.
"For our parents, it used to be that you dated, decided you were monogamous, then starting looking for a house together. Now you can live together and that doesn't necessarily mean it's serious," says relationship expert Dr Nikki Goldstein.
“What we are seeing now are relationships breaking from traditional moulds - we’re no longer subscribing to what society, religion or parents expect from us, instead deciding what we want as individuals."
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So forget meeting the parents, these are the 16 modern signs a relationship is getting serious.
1. You delete your Tinder accounts. Together.
It's all too easy to hop on, do some swiping and see if there's anything better out there. Deleting your Tinder accounts (bonus points if you do it together) shows this is no casual relationship. You're exclusive now.
2. You commit to watching a box set series together.
Potentially the strongest show of modern commitment, everyone knows that once you decide to watch a series together, you're in it for the long haul (bonus points if it goes for more than three seasons.) It's also an unspoken promise that you'll only watch it with each other... or else.
3. You make it Facebook official.
Making that status change to announce to your nearest and dearest 800 Facebook friends that you're in a relationship is no small step. Why? Facebook official is the real deal. It means you're willing to take the risk of everyone publicly knowing if you break up.
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4. You post couple photos on social media
Whether it's the two of you chilling out on the sofa, enjoying a day out, or those all-too popular sleeping photos, posting a picture of the two of you that's not the typical green smoothie/night out/post-gym selfie shows you mean business. (Post continues after gallery.)
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5. You'd rather stay in together than go out.
Going out in the cold to a packed sweaty bar with overpriced drinks? Not so attractive when cuddles and Netflix wait for you at home (and you don't even have to change out of your pyjamas!)
6. It's assumed you'll spend the night together.
No longer do you have to send those "What are you up to tonight?"suggestive cryptic texts you spent hours composing. Now, it's a given you'll sleep over most nights and you've even claimed a side of their bed for your own.
7. You've memorised each other's mobile numbers.
A 10 digit number? That's a lot to commit to memory when you have wi-fi passwords and other important things to remember. Knowing it off by heart = serious dedication.
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